Stitching The Pieces Together
by Autaria
Summary: As if Tony being captured isn't enough worry for Loki, Tony is also with child, with Loki's child. Loki and the team find a way to rescue Stark from his predicament and help him heal. Warnings for FrostIron and mpreg
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **HELLO EVERYBODY :) It has been like eight months or so since I last updated and the reason so is because I am having my major exams this year and thus I am unable to update :( Also, my computer broke down, but fret not, I have managed to get it repaired! ...and have conjured up a new plot because of plot bunnies. I will not leave any of my stories unfinished; I will require a bit more time to write new chapters, though. Don't expect an update anytime soon, but I promise I will try to do so as much as possible. My major exams end in 60 days and I'll be able to party and write as much as I desire :-) Anyway, enjoy! :-)

**TADAH I UPDATED SO IT WOULD BE A LITTLE LONGER HEHE :-) Next chapter will probably be soon or maybe after my major exams! :P Stay tuned and do drop me a review! :-) I really appreciate it! **

* * *

Two months.

Two slow, whole months had passed, and the lapse in time had done nothing for Loki's troubled mind – if anything, he'd grown more worried, and most of his time was spent fretting. This was rather unlike him, he'd reflected once. Wasting his time worrying about Stark – about Tony – and two whole months at that. True, two months was nothing but a mere, barely noticeable bump on the road in comparison to how long he'd lived so far, but honestly? Loki had never worried this much before, and the time that he'd spent locked up in his room in the mornings, not even opening the door to Thor, was starting to show. Despite the fact that gods did not require as much food as the mortals, Loki wouldn't go near food, much less look at it. He didn't sleep much, either. Thor was still convinced that he'd heard Loki sobbing quietly once when he had passed Loki's room – no, scratch that, _Tony _and Loki's room – on the way to the elevator, although Loki would never admit that he'd been crying.

The rest of the team had tried everything they could to get the Man Of Iron back. Clint went out on nightly patrols with Natasha, leaving at eight in the evening and only returning back to the tower at one or two in the morning, taking the initiative to explore a different part of New York City every night just to see if there was any sign of Tony. Despite his initial dislike for the God of Mischief – after all, Loki HAD controlled his mind for a short period of time – Clint took to making it his duty to care for the grief-stricken god, along with the rest of his team, occasionally bringing Loki a bowl of marshmallows (which Loki rejected), some cereal (that was rejected as well), or some soup in a cup (of which Loki took the smallest of sips, but it was still considered a victory for Clint in succeeding in making the god drink something). Bruce, on the other hand, had taken to utilizing SHIELD's state-of-the-art technology, as well as some help from JARVIS, to run island-wide scans to locate anybody that could potentially be Tony. Thor was Loki's main caretaker, although his brother refused most of his help except for the occasional cup of water. Fury had directed most of SHIELD's resources in aiding Bruce in the search for Tony, despite the Council's protests. And Steve – nobody saw Steve around the Tower lately, the Captain staking and checking out places which Bruce had alerted him that might have any clues of Tony's whereabouts. So far, no luck.

It was scary. It was so fucking scary to have Tony disappear without a trace, from the surface of the earth. The last time he'd seen Tony, Loki had been departing for Asgard, his father having summoned him for a task that required much skill in magic. The god could still remember how he'd wrapped his hands around Tony's still flat stomach, whispering a 'be safe' before stepping through the portal. And then he'd received that message from Thor that Tony had disappeared. They'd checked the security cameras – apparently Tony had stepped into his lab at nine hundred hours on a Thursday morning, two months ago, but he never did come out. His absence was discovered by Steve when the super soldier had come down to call Tony for lunch. It was an insurmountable thought, of how Tony could have just vanished into thin air in his lab, and how nobody noticed until Steve came down. There was no sign, even. Bruce had scoured the lab, dusting for fingerprints, looking at every vantage point that intruders could sneak up on Tony without being noticed, but nothing in the lab was misplaced. If – no, _when _they got Stark back, Loki was going to have him install security cameras _in _his lab, too, not just at the outside, for Tony wanted his own privacy in "the one place I can actually be myself".

They'd checked with JARVIS, but whoever had managed to break into Stark Towers had temporarily disabled JARVIS while they were at it, successfully capturing Tony. Bruce had brought JARVIS back online, but the technological wonder had absolutely no idea what had happened in the time that Tony had stepped into his lab. Loki had cursed, but it hadn't helped in the slightest, of course.

Loki stared blankly at the floor, his fingers gripping the bedclothes. Tony was with child. Tony was with _his _child, wherever Tony was, he was probably injured, assuming he was even alive in the first place, and their child was probably dying, and so was Tony, both of them injured and dying alone (technically alone because neither could see the other) and Loki would never get to see his lover again, neither would he catch a first glimpse of their only child…

* * *

_Loki had been on Asgard when he'd received the news from a yellow-and-pink butterfly that had landed by his bedroom window, the god immediately recognizing the magical creature as one of Thor's messengers. This had to be something important, for Thor rarely sent his messengers all the way from Earth to Asgard – in fact, he barely used his messengers at all, only to pass messages with highly sensitive content from himself to another trusted friend or family member of his. Letting the butterfly attach itself to his thumb, the god's green eyes focused on the magnificent wings of the tiny creature, flapping with a remarkable frequency, conveying a coded message through wingbeats that Thor knew only Loki could decode. _

Come to Midgard immediately. There is urgent news.

_Loki had slammed his book about the Bifrost shut, hurriedly shelving it, slotting it between two books with covers that had similar patterns. 'Urgent news' could only mean that something had happened to Tony, or his brother, and he did not wish to lose either of them. Barreling through the large double-doors, he pushed past some warriors in the corridor, ignoring their dirty glares and their snorts, making his way to Odin's throne room where he needed to seek permission from the Allfather before departing for Earth. _

_Once Odin had consented to his departure, Loki left immediately, teleporting himself straight to Stark Towers, without even bothering to use the proper portal, not even heeding the voice at the back of his head which reminded him how much energy his teleportation could drain out of him. He materialized in Tony's workshop – which was surprisingly empty, and hurried up the stairs, not even bothering to use the elevator. His brother or Tony had better be in serious trouble if he was called all the way from Asgard to Midgard, or he'd wring Thor's muscular neck with his bare hands. _

_He found his love in the recreational room, lying outstretched on the couch, head turned sideways towards the television screen – it was slightly bigger as compared to the last time he'd seen it, Loki mused, Tony must have gotten it replaced – and his callused hands resting atop his muscular stomach. Tony was dressed casually in a pair of shorts and a loose-fitting shirt – how very different from how he dressed when he actually had to go outside. Beside him, the Black Widow sat curled up on the floor, hugging a cushion, and her trademark .22 by her belt. Raucous laughter that reverberated throughout the room told him that Hawkeye was nestled somewhere on top of a cupboard that held all of Tony's Wii games, while Doctor Banner was seated comfortably on the loveseat, munching popcorn. His brother appeared to have claimed a second, smaller sofa that matched the one Tony was lying on, occupying eighty percent of the space, while Captain Rogers had somehow managed to squeeze himself into the remaining twenty percent of seating room on the sofa. _

_"You better not have summoned me all the way from Asgard just for a movie, dear brother," Loki snapped as the temperature in the room lowered steadily, and all heads pointed in his direction, "or I will tell everybody here about the time when you –"_

_"I called you for a purpose, brother," Thor interrupted, cheeks coloring and his heart lifting with relief at the fact that he'd managed to stop his brother before Loki could announce to everyone about how he'd…oh, it was too embarrassing to even think about it. "However, we must talk about it in private." Rising from the couch – which now had a large butt imprint on the velvet cushions – he motioned his brother to join him in an adjoining room, eyes darting to Tony, silently requesting his presence in the mysterious matter. _

_"Yes?" Loki scowled impatiently, once they'd been settled comfortably in the kitchen._

_"Uh," Thor's eyes darted uncomfortably to the ground, "I think Friend Tony should say it."_

_"The reason I told you to help me with this talk was because I had no idea how to manage it," Tony hissed, kicking Thor in the shin lightly. _

_"Perhaps you should have realized I am not very good with words. The last time you told me to order pizza –"_

_"Yes, I'd rather not think about that anymore, thank you very –"_

_"Honestly – you called me all this way here just to bicker over Italian food," Loki rolled his eyes in frustration, although his right arm slipped around Tony's waist, pulling him closer. "I care not for who delivers the news, but please note that I have just travelled some seven hundred and fifty trillion kilometers, so do spill the beans soon or the anticipation will suffocate me."_

_"Uh," Tony appeared at a loss for words. "Okay, please don't freak out at whatever we say next."_

_"You might wish to take a seat first, brother," Thor gestured to the kitchen counter. _

_"I'm fine. I doubt anything you say can surprise me, anyway. Get on with it," Loki waved a hand. _

_"I'm carrying," Tony blurted, his eyes locking onto Loki's, his brown pupils trembling and revealing the vulnerability. _

_The silence dragged on for a while before Loki heard something come out from his mouth, despite already knowing the answer to the question. "Carrying what?"_

_"Your kid. Stupid and impossible as it sounds, I'm pregnant – in simple terms."_

_A child? Huh. Loki had always wanted kids of his own. Those human stories about him birthing an eight-legged horse were lies at best, so he'd never really had a child that he could call his own, despite having no experience in taking care of one. A daughter that he'd always give in to, that he'd spoil thoroughly. A son, that he'd take with him on trips to Asgard and teach him how to play pranks on others without getting caught. He would feel a warm feeling seeping into him – happiness? Excitement? Perhaps a mixture of both. Oh, gods above, he was a _father. _Despite all the destruction he'd caused in the past, he promised there and then that he'd be a good father to his son – or daughter, whichever gender he didn't really care. And Tony, Tony would make the perfect father, even with his flaws. A family. It sounded odd, but he knew this child would be someone whom he would love and treasure as much as Tony – the only two people in the world whom he had such immense love for. He hadn't even seen his child, and he knew he loved him or her already. _

_"Loki?" Tony's voice was worried, when he noticed that the god had suddenly gone very quiet. _

_"A kid," Loki finally unleashed his trillion-dollar smile, to which Tony responded by giving a relieved smile of his own. "That is amazing news." It was a whisper, but both Tony and Thor could hear more than just happiness in his tone. _

_"Do the others know?" Loki questioned, the smile still sticking on his face and refusing to fade. _

_"Oddly enough, they were rather unfazed at this strange piece of news," Thor lifted a hand up to his chin. "Brother Banner did confine himself to his lab for thirty-eight hours, most of which was spent questioning the existence of science, I believe. Also, Brother Barton laughed so hard he pulled both hamstrings. I do find it strange that they have reacted in such a calm manner. I do believe impregnating a male on Midgard is supposed to be biologically impossible. Perhaps it is because they have seen many strange things. Your affair with Brother Tony is one, I believe."_

_Loki rolled his eyes, making a mental note to deal with Hawkeye later. Pulling Tony closer to him, the motion causing Thor to murmur, "I shall take my leave, then" and Tony gasping in shock, he hadn't even bothered to wait till Thor had left the kitchen before entwining his fingers with Tony's and claiming his lips. Tony had smiled that brilliant smile of his, even chuckling a little, and it was just the both of them, there, all time having stopped. To Tony and Loki, nothing else mattered._

* * *

No. He did not believe that Tony was dead. He'd have felt it if Tony was really gone. Loki huffed, looking out of the glass window that replaced one wall of their shared bedroom, for once not appreciating the grandeur of New York City's sunrise. The rising sun was a golden half-semicircle atop a brown skyscraper, and the light flooded his senses, shining on his splayed fingers and arms. Under normal circumstances Loki would have commented to Tony how pretty the sunrise was, but Tony was not here now. Tony was gone.

Loki spent mornings in the room that he used to share with Tony, just sitting and watching the sunrise, albeit without appreciating the magnificence of it. His afternoons were usually spent with Bruce in Doctor Banner's lab, looking through news articles of kidnappings, going through recordings and just looking for Tony's whereabouts. His nights were spent on night patrol, although he often took a different route from Natasha and Clint, in order to ensure that a greater amount of land was covered. And still no luck. He'd tried the hardest, never sleeping, not even stopping to break. His brilliant green eyes were a dull grey now, black rings around his eyes from the lack of sleep – hey, gods weren't human but they needed sleep, too – and if he stood shirtless in front of a mirror, you could count his prominent ribs, his body wasting away from not eating.

Right now, it was nearly ten, so Loki smoothed the bedclothes and got ready to join Bruce in his lab again, looking for any sign of Tony. He'd skip breakfast most mornings, too, and the mornings that he did eat, it was usually some week-old leftovers from the fridge – when Loki ate, he acted as if it was a chore, shoveling food into his mouth. Usually he managed about three spoonfuls before declaring that he had no appetite for the rest of the meal. He had his fingers wrapped around the doorknob, just about to twist it open, when the teal door slammed open, knocking the god into the wall and causing Loki to slump to the floor, clutching his abdomen, gasping for breath and rubbing soothing circles around his stomach, where the blasted doorknob had hit him.

"Brother!" Thor bellowed, rushing into the room. Without even a word of apology, he hoisted Loki up on his feet, putting a firm hand on the god's bony shoulder. "Brother, this is important. Brother Banner has discovered Brother Tony's whereabouts! He has asked me to summon you and – oof!"

The rest of the sentence was lost on Loki as the younger god had practically barreled out of the room, pushing past Thor and teleporting himself down to Bruce's lab, not even bothering to wait for his brother.

_Tony has been found._

* * *

"I was looking through his lab again, the place where Tony last disappeared, before I came upon the old arc reactor, the first arc reactor that Tony ever had, back in Afghanistan. I remember he told me that when he constructed the second one – the one that he's using now, I mean – he used a piece of vibranium. There's vibranium in his chest, the same material that the Steve's shield is made out of. And that's just it. JARVIS has written a computer program that will allow us to scan an area as large as the whole Northern Hemisphere – using SHIELD satellites, of course, for locations of pieces of vibranium. Vibranium is incredibly rare – in fact, there are only two spots on the scanner now. The first location is here, in the Tower, which we will not heed because it's more than likely detecting the vibranium in Steve's shield. And the other piece of vibranium is located in Afghanistan. Tony is in Afghanistan."

Loki nearly collapsed on the floor with relief, breathing heavily, leaning on Thor's shoulder. _Tony, I'm coming. Tony's nightmares started in Afghanistan, and if he has been kidnapped, it is unlikely he will survive in there for long._ "I will kill whoever has taken him away from me. Not even their entrails will remain recognizable." _If my child is dead, I will make sure that Tony's captor endures rigorous tortures before I deal the final blow. If Tony is broken to the point where he cannot be put back together, a shadow of his former self, they shall have to answer to me. _

"We'll need a Quinjet with fully-loaded weapons, and a well-equipped medbay," Bruce turned to Fury. "I suspect there will be much damage to him and the baby. A couple of medics would be good, too, since the Other Guy will probably still be smashing up the place when Tony is rescued, and he won't stop till he is contented with the amount of collateral damage dealt."

"Quinjet's on the way," Fury grunted. "The rest of you, suit up, and then to the helipad immediately." Loki had not even realized that the rest of the team had also gathered in the room. "Doctor Banner will explain the mission details along the way. Romanoff, pilot; Barton, copilot. Before you open your damn mouth to complain about being the copilot, Barton, I'd like to interject we don't really have much time to spare because every moment could be Stark's last. Move!"

* * *

The hooded silhouette stared at the whimpering prisoner. Bending down, a hand emerged from the silken robes to touch the prisoner's face gently – a stark contrast to how that same hand had previously slapped and punched the prisoner repeatedly, drawing blood from pale flesh.

The prisoner jerked his head away, groaning at the movement, for he was weak. His trembling arms wrapped around his knees, withdrawing into himself, trying to protect his torso. His once-brown eyes were now dull, squeezed tightly shut so the prisoner wouldn't have to look at his captor. The one who'd caused him so much pain, coaxed out many screams from his painful larynx. His voice was now gone, and his eyes had grown accustomed to the dark, such that when even the smallest bit of light from outside the cell seeped in when the door was opened, the prisoner would hiss and cover his aching eyes.

"Face it," the man snapped. "They won't be coming for you, not anymore. It's been two months, Tony Stark."

Tony didn't react at that harsh statement. He'd grown numb. He didn't even notice the stinging slap that his captor delivered, nor the cell door slamming shut as his captor left him.

* * *

"He appears to be in a rural area." Bruce's hand shifted to the left, and the hologram of Afghanistan magnified itself by a hundred times, zooming in to a little red spot amidst blue, shimmering hologram hills. "It's a dry area here. The quinjet is moving in stealth mode, fully camouflaged so that Tony's captors will be unable to detect us when we near Afghanistan."

"We'll go in teams," Fury interrupted, and Bruce stepped behind, allowing the black-clad man to do the planning – what Fury was best at. "Thor, Captain Rogers and Banner will be in the first team, while Ms Romanoff, Barton and Loki will be in another. I will be staying back at the jet to give directions and prep the jet should we require a quick getaway. Thor, Captain, and Doctor Banner, your main objective will be to create a diversion. Clear a path through the base. These hills are pretty small, and underground is solid granite – I doubt any organization based in Afghanistan has the resources to build their way underground and drill through solid granite. Loki, Romanoff – locate Stark and bring him back to the quinjet, _do not _even bother to wait for the rest. Captain Rogers, you'll lead the diversion, and Barton will alter his roles when backup is needed. Keep this a clean job, if you will, Thor." Despite having only one good eye, the glare Fury was shooting the god could melt diamond. "The last mission with HYDRA ended in thirty-seven deaths because _somebody _did not take heed that a human would not survive a blow from a hammer, especially not a hammer like Mjolnir."

"My sincerest apologies," Thor begin (though he did not look one bit sorry), "but they were about to murder Brother Steve. It is not in the blood of the heir to the throne of Asgard to merely sit by and watch as my Shield Brother dies."

"I had the situation under control," Steve grumbled, looking and sounding very un-Captain-like as he slouched in his seat, folding his arms around his massive shield.

Loki paid no heed to their banter. All he could feel now was the relief that Tony was still alive, that Tony would be his soon, that he would see Tony once again. Tony, Tony, Tony. He'd had Tony's captors' deaths written in stone. There was no way he was going to show any mercy toward someone who'd taken what belonged to him away. And if Tony was found harmed, in any way, his captor would suffer much before Loki dealt the killing blow.

* * *

_"We really shouldn't be doing this."_

_"You're afraid of being seen with me." It was a statement, not a question. _

_"You're supposed to be my enemy! I'm not supposed to be here with you, in the toilet, half naked," Tony protested, a frown marring his perfect features. Looking away from Loki, he threw up his hands. "Oh, gods above. We're supposed to hate each other, what would everyone else think if they saw us doing this?"_

_"You would prefer not to do this."_

_"No, dammit Loki, I need you, but we really shouldn't be doing…this. You know. The sex thing. I mean, you've only just tried to take over the world a year ago, and we've started seeing each other for only six months. And keeping a secret is…hard, as much as it takes for me to admit that. We're not supposed to do this, I'm not supposed to be doing this with a murderer who took eighty-something lives in two days, I'm not…I'm not supposed to fall in love with you!" _

_Loki conveniently ignored the murderer part, and focused his attention on Stark's last sentence. "Huh, I knew you always had feelings for me, mortal."_

_"Of course I have feelings for you. I wouldn't be so committed if I didn't," Tony rolled his eyes, leaning against the oak door. "Truthfully, Loki? I've never given so much in a relationship before, not even with Pepper. Wait…are you just understanding that now?"_

_"Of course not," Loki murmured, moving closer. "If anything, I have the same feelings towards you as you do toward me." Nuzzling Tony's neck, he whispered, voice dropping several octaves, "do you _want _me to go away? Do you want to stop doing this?"_

_"No!" Tony replied immediately, without even doubting his words, and Loki could see it in his jet-black eyes that what he was saying was the definite truth, etched in stone. _

_"Then why question this?" Loki moved to claim Tony's lips, and he could feel Tony tense underneath him before relaxing into his embrace. _

_"We'll need to be subtle," Tony mumbled against his pale lips. "Until I find a way to break it to Fury and the rest of the team. Fury's gonna have a heart attack when he hears about this, and Bruce is probably gonna hulk out and destroy half of my tower."_

_"Subtle works with me," Loki mumbled, moving his arms to wrap around Tony's slim waist. "Subtle works just fine."_

* * *

**A/N: **Next chapter, the heroes find Tony! YAY :) Stay tuned and please drop me a review, I love reading your comments.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hey everybody! :-) I won't be updating often from now on so here's a little something to placate you with. Please R&R! And to those reading my other stories, I promise I will never abandon my stories, I just have a little problem coming up with the next chapters, that's all. I'm waiting for the plot bunny hurricane to start :B Once again, please R&R! :) 

* * *

The Hulk roared, catching a brave soldier with a single green fist and slamming him backward into five other soldiers, sending the whole lot toppling over onto the stony ground, knocked unconscious from the impact. Charging forward, the green monster rammed into a narrow stone pillar, causing bits of rock to tumble down from the ceiling and hit some more soldiers who were charging forward with their guns. Some went down like stones thrown into the ocean, while others aimed their weapons at the Hulk and fired. (That turned out to be a horrible choice because firing at the Hulk got all of them a one-way ticket to a close-contact experience with the green monster's rear end and the rocky ground.) Dislodging himself from the debris and the squashed soldiers – most of which were whimpering and begging for their mothers by now – the green monster shook his head with a disgruntled snort, looking around for more soldiers to smash.

They'd landed on a rocky cliff on Afghanistan, the Quinjet fully disguised and blended in with the surroundings. As promised, the medics and Fury had stayed onboard, while all five remaining Avengers – plus a very angry god – had disembarked, said god wringing his hands and muttering death threats to Tony's captors. They'd moved with surprising stealth to what the source of vibranium, which appeared to be a hollow cave entrance – and Bruce had hulked out almost immediately, the Other Guy not able to stand any of the tension and heeding his primal instincts which told him to rescue Tony from the bad guys. The Hulk had charged into the cave with a roar, flattening two guards at once with his bare feet, and knocking another seven into submission with a single swing of his fists.

Captain America's shield neatly displaced four men, catching one in the gut and causing him to tumble backward into three of his other comrades. Loki was too busy freezing every man he caught on sight wearing the grey bulletproof vest with an odd logo embroided on the chest area. The temperature in the room had dropped drastically, and every breath caused vapour to puff from Clint's nose – similar to how a dragon would exhale smoke. Ignoring the cold, the master assassin dodged a bullet cleanly, before pulling a random arrow from his sheath and launching it. These arrows were a gift from Tony – he'd been assured that all of them packed a powerful punch, but what they did would be a surprise for him to find out. This particular arrow that he'd shot caused an mini-explosion, sending rock tumbling down the entrance where more soldiers appeared to be pouring out from and blocking the door effectively.

"Thank you, Stark," he grunted, pulling another arrow from his sheath to deal with the rest of the soldiers that still remained. From his peripheral vision he could see Thor swinging his hammer and sending a powerful blow to a poor solider – Clint almost pitied him – and winced as a loud 'crack' followed to justify the amount of strength the god had. Beside him, Natasha moved soundlessly, sticking knives into the back of the knees of the poor men who didn't stand a chance against her. The Russian aimed a neat blow to the forehead of one of the soldiers – how she could kick that high, Clint would never know – and disassembled his gun – in all fairness, disassembled was a gentle term for what Natasha actually did – in seventeen different pieces before moving on to the next soldier who appeared to be slowly creeping up behind Steve, wanting to ambush the super-soldier.

"Loki," Natasha yelled, after she'd knocked the lights out of the poor henchman. "The rest can handle things here, we've got to go."

The god nodded, grabbing Natasha's arm and teleporting the both of them to a quieter corridor. Natasha suspected it was probably beside the main chamber where they'd been fighting, because the faint sounds of battle and Thor's war-cry were still audible.

"Clint, be ready to depart when I radio you," Natasha murmured into her comm., not even waiting for Hawkeye's reply before she joined Loki in checking the long, stone corridor for clues to Tony's whereabouts. A scanner attached to her right wrist, she brought it up to her face-level, knowing Loki would cover her should there be any intruders, and checked for heat-signatures of any more soldiers and Tony's location using the vibranium-detecting program that JARVIS had created. "No nasty surprises here, Loki. Come on."

As they progressed, Natasha cast her wary glance upon the corridor. To her right was a never-ending row of cobblestones arranged into a surprisingly sturdy wall, and to her left was cell after cell, some with skeletons hanging from chains – how stereotypically villainous, Natasha thought – and others empty. Torture weapons were displayed on the walls that divided each cell proudly, as if this place was some sort of a torture museum. A bloodied whip – must have been used recently, Natasha deduced – caught her eye, the top looped neatly so the whole whip appeared to be a perfect 'P'. Loki, on the other hand, was watching the ground very carefully, for some parts of the stony ground appeared to be splattered with dried blood. Again, they appeared rather recent. Someone had been dragged through these grounds not more than a day or two ago.

"If these tracks are Tony's," she could hear Loki's voice, barely audible, "his captor had better be prepared for a whole lot of pain."

She understood what he meant; how he felt. She would have done the same, would have spoken the same threats had somebody kidnapped someone she loved. It had happened, once, but it would never happen again, for Natasha had nobody to love in this world any longer, except for…nope. Relationships within the team would only complicate matters, and what if someone were to capture Clint and threaten her with his life? She could never let herself react in that desperate manner. It would be best to let everybody think that her relationship with Clint was strictly professional, and it would be best to act that way, too. _Look what happened today. If it was Clint who was captured instead of Tony, how would I react? _

A muffled whimper caused her train of thoughts to derail, and she looked up from where her eyes were fixed on the floor. Loki had heard it, too, and before she could even form a second thought he moved, running to the end of the corridor, to the last cell, skidding to a halt and kneeling in front of the iron bars. Natasha followed his example, already withdrawing her weapon should there be any unexpected surprises waiting for them. It was unlikely, though, with her years of experience – Natasha had gained a reputation for being able to sniff out trouble ten miles away.

"Tony," she heard Loki murmur, and she pushed her gun back into its holster, because if Loki thought it was okay, then it must be. She had learned to trust Loki's intuition over the past six months that he'd arrived on Earth with Thor. Sprinting the last few steps to the cell door, she peered into the darkness of the bars, the cell illuminated only by a single, dim and rapidly flickering lightbulb. She could see the dark and dank cell, teeming with filth, floor splattered with drying blood, some not even dried yet. A large rat gnawed on a piece of stale bread in the corner, and Natasha could literally feel the sickness and the air of depression within the cell.

A small form, hunched over in the far end of the cell, in a dirty corner, curled up on himself, knees to the man's chest and arms hugging himself, embracing himself for a false sense of comfort. A weak whimper sounded again, followed by a soft series of coughs, and when Loki murmured the injured man's name one more time, the silhouette lifted its head and looked at the god. Another whine and the figure uncurled itself and crawled forward, inch by slow inch, hissing quietly as each inch brought new, white hot pain to his abdomen.

"Tony," Loki whispered. "Tony, it's me, Loki. You're safe now, nobody's going to hurt you." A wave of his hand and the rusty bars disappeared, and Loki moved forward to hold Tony. The wounded man looked awful, even in the dim light, with a leg bent at an unnatural angle, dried blood covering both legs and a foot twisted in a grotesque manner. His abdomen only appeared slightly bigger – the baby did not appear to have grown much in the two months that he was here. Tony's belly was expected to be a lot bigger than what it was now for a two-month old pregnancy. The man looked so painfully thin, with dark circles ringing his eyes, indicating the lack of sleep, his lips slightly swollen, and blood dripping from his bruised chin, dried tears marring his dirty cheeks. Dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts that appeared to be slightly ripped, Tony appeared to be shivering very badly, shifting closer to Loki, who immediately raised his body temperature to warm his injured love. Bruises covered the whole length of his body, even the areas near his stomach, and abrasions marked his limbs, along with the ugly cuts on his wrists. His face looked swollen, with a purple bruise covering his left cheek, spreading to nearly half his face, which looked like it'd been pummeled more than just once. An ugly wound – obviously infected already – on his shoulder, a broken left hand, and the bones underneath his skin looked distorted, the skin stretched over the fragile bones, as if it was about to snap at any moment.

"Shh," Loki murmured, carrying Tony in a manner usually reserved for young children. A hand supporting Tony's rear, while the other hand wrapped around his waist, Tony leaned in close to the god, a whimper releasing itself from his lips when Loki accidentally jostled his leg. "Sorry, sorry, love. You're safe. Don't worry, I'll protect you. I will kill whoever has brought harm to you, I promise. I will not stop looking until he or she is dead. Rest, Tony. I love you." The injured man curled his arms around Loki's neck slowly, resting his head on the curve of his shoulder and breathing softly albeit quickly. Only when he felt the dampness on his cloak did Loki realize Tony was crying.

"It's okay," he reiterated for good measure, and then draped his cloak around Tony, trying to warm the injured body. "It's going to be okay –"

"They killed him," Tony whispered, the words coming out as a choked sob. "They killed him, Loki. They made me…drink some sort of…poison…I didn't want to, I swear…they forced it down my throat, they opened my mouth and I tried to close my mouth, I really did, but they pulled too hard…I tried to protect him but…they told me that the poison would kill him…" Tony buried his head into Loki's shoulder, coughing, hacking violently, before forcing out the last part. "I don't feel him move any more, Loki. He's…dead. He used to move a lot, but…he's doesn't now."

Natasha froze at his words, an ugly scowl marring her features, and her hand rested on her gun holster.

Loki moved a hand to Tony's abdomen, waving it a few times before sighing softly, letting out a breath of relief. "No, he's not dead, Tony. He's just stopped moving so as to conserve your energy for what you've endured. He's weak, but he will live." At Tony's surprised murmur, he kissed the man's forehead, nuzzling him softly before standing. "It's okay. Our baby will live, and so will you, but first we need to get you back to the Quinjet." Turning to Natasha, he spoke softly, so as not to frighten the visibly frightened man. "Can you tell the others to get a move on back to the jet? I'm going to teleport the both of us out of here." He hadn't been able to teleport himself to Tony's location, for he had no idea of Tony's whereabouts, and for one to teleport, one must first know where he was going. Since Loki already knew where the Quinjet was, getting back there would be a breeze.

"Clint," he heard Natasha's voice in the distant, talking to Hawkeye over her comm., while he pulled Tony close to him and hugged him tighter, stopping when he heard a weak protest over the amount of strength he was using.

"They hurt me," he heard Tony murmur in his ear tiredly. "They…they hit me, they didn't let me sleep, didn't let me drink water." A wet-sounding cough. "They told me that you didn't want me, they told me that you wouldn't want me after what they would do. I was…scared, Loki. Please, don't let me go."

"I'll never let you go, ever again," Loki nodded, stroking Tony's hair, which was matted with grime, but he didn't care, although he did note with some worry that Tony's forehead was extremely warm. "And don't be silly, I'll always want you, no matter what those idiots with a death wish do to you. I'll love you no matter how you look like. When I find those bastards who dared lay their hands on you, I shall give them the most brutal torture that they shall never forget. They needn't learn the lesson that I wish to teach them, for they will not survive long enough for them to learn it."

"Acknowledged. Time to go," Natasha's voice cut in on their moment, her hand maintaining an iron grip on Loki's shoulder.

A rush of wind and they appeared in the medbay, startling the medics and Fury himself, who appeared to be helping them prepare the medbay for a patient. Tony's eyes dimmed with relief that he was in safe hands, but clung closer to Loki, who attempted to soothe him with by whispering hushed nothings in his ears to calm him down. Tony didn't want Loki to let go of him – two months of all this pain and torture, and the last thing he wanted was to relieve all the nightmares and pain by himself. With Loki beside him, he felt reassured that there was somebody watching over him, and all his fears would be temporarily banished. He felt safe with Loki beside him. And now, learning that their baby was all right, he could feel some weight being lifted off his chest.

"Don't go," he whispered to Loki, still holding tight to him, his skin pale. "Stay." He was jolted by another round of coughs, to which Loki responded by rubbing the nape of his neck soothingly.

"I'll be here when you wake up," Loki assured him. "Sleep, Tony." A kiss to Tony's bloodied forehead, and the injured man fell into an exhausted slumber, too tired to even stay awake.

* * *

"He's gone, huh?" The man in the suit was facing the fireplace, the light from the dancing flames playing across his features. A crystal flute of wine held in his left hand, watching the fire crackling eloquently over the logs, his eyes blazed with anger at the fact that his prize had been stolen from him. "I thought I had instructed the lot of you to be better prepared for an invasion from the Avengers? What were my specific instructions? Conceal the cave entrance and bring the captive to one of the underground cells. They were simple enough for you to handle. Just send a couple of men to do the job for you, no need for you to even dirty your hands, but no. You grew complacent, and look where we are at now."

"I apologize, Sir."

"I have heard that many times before, Admiral." The suited man did not turn, taking his time to drink from the flute. "My patience grows thin with your incompetence, Admiral. I am tired of dreaming up punishments for you. For a change, let's hear you come up with a suitable punishment for yourself, after today's failures."

"I had disobeyed your direct orders, Sir," the uniformed man behind him did not sound one bit apologetic. "I deserve whatever you wish to punish me with. Whatever punishment I choose for myself shall never be enough to compensate for my direct disobedience, Sir."

"It certainly shan't," the suited man nodded, finally turning to face him. "But we shall discuss the specifics of your punishment at a later date. You have failed me far too many times in the past three years, Admiral. In fact, I do believe that it is partially your fault for the relationship between Loki Laufeyson and Anthony Stark. However, I also have you to thank for it. Without this relationship, the child would never have been conceived. Without your efforts, we wouldn't have learned that the child existed. I shall keep your achievements in mind while thinking of a suitable punishment for you, Admiral. For now, I want you to summon my best officers to the board room – and this is a simple task. Try not to screw up." The tone was condescending. "I wish to formulate a plan to retrieve what has been lost to me. I need the child he is carrying. It shall prove to be a worthy adversary under our care and instruction. We shall turn it against its own parents. I will have that child, one way or another." A pause. "If you fail me again, I shall see to it that you perish. You are dismissed."

* * *

_Loki stroked Tony's hair, watching the man sleep, wondering how it had come to this. A few months ago, they were all enemies, what with Loki having thrown Tony off the eighty-fifth floor of Stark Towers and the Chitauri trying to take over the world and stuff, and the official inauguration of the Avengers into SHIELD. So here they were, three months later. He never imagined that he'd be sharing a bed with his former enemy; never imagined that his former enemy would somehow find a way to creep into his heart. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Tony's supposedly 'perfect' relationship with Pepper had ended when the CEO had decided that she could no longer stand in being such danger and that it was time to move on with her life. Tony had started spending more time with Loki. It had started out with simple things. Since Loki had been forced to spend more time with the humans and find methods to compensate for all the damage he'd dealt to one of their most precious cities, he'd be living on Earth for some time, and it was decided (by Thor) that he'd take up residence in Stark Towers. On his first day, he'd gotten angry at the microwave for not heating up some pasta (in retrospect, Thor had only told him that the microwave heated up things, he hadn't shown Loki how to operate the microwave) and had destroyed the whole device altogether. Tony had laughed and laughed, for the first time in weeks since his break-up with Pepper, and had decided to show the god how one actually _lived _on Earth. _

_It started with the movies. Tony brought Loki out to catch some movies, anything to introduce him to the human way of life. They'd have some ice-cream before the movie (Tony always chose the peppermint chocolate chip while Loki would have the double chocolate truffle cream), and if they had space in their stomachs, Tony would get them each a box of popcorn to munch on during the movie. Loki had discovered many things – how Tony, despite being the proud man that he was, was actually afraid of horror movies – and when they'd went to watch shows like The Conjuring, Tony would always burrow himself into Loki's shoulder out of instinct. Loki had noticed a warm feeling creeping through him whenever Tony sought him for comfort during the horror movies, and through it he discovered that he actually _liked _spending time with Tony. Other times, they'd go to Tony's lab and Loki would spend his time watching Tony tinker away at the new Iron Man suit with Dummy's help, while he held up an intelligent conversation with JARVIS about nuclear physics. Loki had found the subject rather interesting when he'd first landed on Earth and had demanded to find out more about it, with JARVIS' help, of course. _

_They bonded through other ways, too. When the Avengers sat together at the dinner table, Loki would join them, and his demeanor was always polite, despite having to sit next to Tony, who was insufferable at the dinner table. Usually, Tony only appeared for dinners once a week, spending most of the time in his workshop, and he'd be ravenous, having consumed nothing for the past week or so. Tony would wolf down bacon, rice, scrambled eggs, Chinese food, pizza, and practically every dish on the dinner table, along with Thor, who had the appetite of a whole battalion of soldiers. Tony took Loki grocery shopping, too, to teach him about the ways of the modern American. Sure, they'd get stares and possibly even get photographed by the paparazzi, but Tony had nothing to worry about, for Loki only had to flick his fingers and the photograph would disappear from the camera film. They'd buy milk, and Loki would remind Tony to get some Poptarts for his brother. Tony would load the trolley with eggs, butter, chicken, and other ingredients that Captain America had told him to get for dinner, for Steve was usually the one cooking their meals and making sure that everyone had something to eat. Tony discovered that Loki loved cornflakes and chocolate milk, while Loki learnt that Tony didn't even care what he ate – as long as it kept him awake, it was good with him. _

_It was one night when they were seated on the couch at the balcony, together, and Tony had put his arm around Loki casually, not even realizing what effect his actions had on the god. _

_"What are we, exactly, Tony?"_

_"What are we?" Tony laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I'm a human and you're an Asguardian."_

_"No, I mean," Loki rolled his eyes, exasperated that he had to repeat his question. "I meant, what is the current status of our relationship now, Tony?"_

_"Relationship?" Tony turned away from the barely-visible stars, dimmed by the Manhattan skyline. "We're close friends, I guess. I hadn't really thought about it." He paused, and they sat in comfortable silence for the next five minutes before Tony spoke again. "Actually…come to think about it…I think it may have gone a little more than that."_

_Loki's heart fluttered. "Excuse me?"_

_"I mean, I may have felt something for you," Tony was stuttering now. "Uh, I mean, I may _feel _something for you."_

_"Oh." Loki turned back to the sky. "You mean you love me?"_

_Tony didn't answer, dumbfounded that Loki had practically read him like an open book. "Uh, yeah. I may love you."_

_"Intriguing." Loki didn't push the matter any further, but the Iron Man was unsatisfied. _

_"Wait, you just got me to confess that I have feelings for you and you do nothing about the fact that I actually love you?" Tony sat up straight. _

_"Is there an appropriate response for which I should be carrying out?" Loki smiled brightly, his teeth gleaming in the dim light, and Tony knew he was teasing him. Rolling his eyes, the man of iron groaned. _

_"For someone that's been on Earth for nearly three months, you have a lot of stuff you have yet to learn. Yes, you're supposed to act all surprised and stuff and…oh, I don't know, if you love me back, you have to say it. If you don't, you have to tell me that you don't." Tony avoided his gaze. "Doesn't matter to me either way. I've heard it many times before."_

_"You've heard people confess to you their love many times before?"_

_"No – the opposite, actually. Me getting together with people for a couple of months, and then they grow tired of me. Like Pepper. Pepper's was the longest, actually, but it's all the same, isn't it?" Loki could hear the vulnerability in his voice. _

_"Well, then, seeing that I'm obliged to tell you the truth, I'll say it," Loki nodded. "I love you, Anthony Stark."_

_Tony blinked, and there was no response for a whole minute before the man of iron turned his head very slowly towards the god. "Did you just –"_

_"Yes," Loki leaned in closer to nuzzle his neck. "I did." _

_They shared their first kiss under the cover of darkness._

* * *

**A/N: **Omg I love FrostIron. Please R&R! :)


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